[Nettime-bold] FW: : Anarchists plot medieval warfare at G8 summit

[Jeffrey Fisher <jfisher@igc.org>]

some protesters use cell phones and palms, others use siege engines and
roman turtle (not sea turtle) formations. one imagines that the tute bianchi
will use all of the above.

j


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[Source?]

SATURDAY JUNE 23 2001

Anarchists plot medieval warfare at G8 summit

FROM DAVID LISTER IN GENOA

ANARCHISTS preparing to disrupt next month's G8 summit in Genoa are
threatening a seaborne  assault of up to 4,000 protesters and a
medieval-style attack using catapults and battering rams to smash  through a
ring of steel in the city centre.

The Italian hardline movement known as the Tute Bianche ‹ the White Overalls
‹ is using training  camps in Milan and Genoa to teach its members how to
fight police and to march in tight columns using  homemade shields as
protection from baton charges.

It said yesterday that British anarchists from the Wombles [[White Overalls
Movement Building Libertarian Effective Struggles -jf]] organisation were
expected to be among up  to 10,000 people who will try to force their way
into the meeting.

The Tute Bianche intensified its plans after police in Gothenburg helped to
keep rioters in check this  month by placing metal freight containers around
the Swedish city, stopping them from reaching the  summit of EU leaders.
[[it's not as high tech as taking the meeting virtual, but, hey, whatever
works]]

The anarchists are preparing to use battering rams to force their way past
similar obstacles in Genoa and  are building giant catapults to hurl objects
such as dead fish and paint at police, according to the city's newspaper.
[["such as" dead fish and paint? and where are they getting the dead fish?
if they had the fish carcasses shipped in from oil spill areas, that would
work nicely. and then you wouldn't need the paint.]]

They will carry ammunition in wooden "siege carts" and will try to catch
teargas canisters in large nets.  They have been told to offset the effects
of teargas with lemon juice on their faces and by washing their  eyes with
water.

Protesters have been trained in marching in turtle formation, a method used
by the Romans, in which the  front row of an advancing column raises its
shields vertically while those behind hold them over their  heads [[yes, an
apparently "medieval-style" roman tactic. the romans never used catapults,
either. uh-huh.]]. Other training includes advice on how to remain calm and
defence against baton charges,  according to witnesses who have attended the
camps.

Luca Mondo, one of the camp teachers, said: "We will do whatever we have to
to get into the summit  and to stop it from happening. When the police start
hitting us, we will go on pushing them and we will  be enough to pass
through. I believe the real violence will be by the police." Last weekend,
at a lake  near Milan, the group simulated an attack on Genoa's port using
canoes, rafts and tyres. "There will be  3,000-4,000 of us in the water,"
Signor Mondo said.

The Tute Bianche is part of a coalition of more than 700 anti-G8 protest
groups called the Genoa Social Forum, which is hoping that nearly 100,000
demonstrators will be in the city for the summit during July  20-22,
compared with 20,000 who travelled to Gothenburg this month. Most protesters
are expected  to be peaceful. Demonstrations will begin with a protest by
immigrants and will include sit-ins.

Up to 20,000 police and troops will be deployed, as opposed to 2,000 in
Gothenburg. They will be  backed by 15 helicopters, four aircraft and seven
naval boats. The city will be closed to the outside  world and separated
into an inner red zone, off limits to demonstrators, and an outer yellow
area, where they can hold protests.

There has been speculation that President Bush may be based on an aircraft
carrier, but the White  House said that it was looking at the possibility of
staying in cruise ships provided by the Italian  Government or in an hotel
in the red zone. [[they should build a Blade Runner-esque ziggurat]]

One reason for concern about security is the apparent lack of  communication
between the Centre Left city council, which welcomes the demonstrators, and
the local  prefetto, the Chief of Police appointed by the Interior Ministry.
The council has virtually no role in the  security preparations and the only
public officials under its control who will be on the streets are the
city's traffic wardens, who are permitted to carry guns but rarely use them.
By contrast, the prefetto is responsible for the civil police as well as the
carabinieri, a military division of the police that ultimately is
accountable to the Defence Minister. Both will be on the streets in force
during the summit. Italian troops  are likely to play a support role.


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